Managing identifier privacy

ABSTRACT

In order to ensure that a Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, is calculated in the Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM, part of a User Equipment, UE, when intended, when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, a network node sets proprietary information, which is not known to a Mobile Equipment, ME, part of the UE, as required for calculation of the SUCI. The USIM facilitates calculation of the SUCI in the ME part of the UE only when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the ME. When the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, the ME part deletes any locally stored information required for calculation of the SUCI.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/811,629, filed on Mar. 6, 2020 (status pending), which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/374,425 filed on Apr. 3,2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,631,161, issued on Apr. 21, 2020), which is acontinuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2019/050654,filed Jan. 11, 2019, designating the United States and claiming priorityto U.S. provisional application No. 62/616,604, filed on Jan. 12, 2018.The above identified applications are incorporated by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This relates to the calculation of an identifier.

BACKGROUND

Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according totheir ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless adifferent meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context inwhich it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus,component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referringto at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means,step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methodsdisclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact orderdisclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following orpreceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step mustfollow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodimentsdisclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, whereverappropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may applyto any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features andadvantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from thefollowing description.

5G is a next generation of mobile networks developed by a standardsdeveloping organization called the 3GPP. The earlier generations ofmobile networks were called 4G/LTE, 3G/UMTS, and 2G/GSM. A 5G network ismaintained and its services are offered by the so-called Mobile NetworkOperators (MNOs). MNOs are distinguishable from each other by two typesof codes, namely the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile NetworkCode (MNC). To use a particular 5G network offered by a particular MNO,users are required to have a sort of contractual relationship with thatMNO, that relationship being generally called the subscription. In caseswhen the user lacks a subscription to some particular MNO (e.g., in aso-called roaming scenario), the relationship is achieved by roamingagreements between the MNO where the user has a subscription, i.e., theuser's Home Network (HN) and the MNO that the user is being served,i.e., the Visited Network (VN). Each subscription in a MNO's 5G networkis identified by a unique long-term identifier called the SubscriptionPermanent Identifier (SUPI). Users wirelessly access a 5G networkover-the-air using wireless device known as User Equipment (UE). Beforeproviding any service, a 5G network needs to identify a user, i.e., theuser's subscription, behind a UE. For this purpose of identification,UEs in earlier generation of mobile networks (4G, 3G, and 2G) used tosend users' unique long-term identifier over-the-air. This wasconsidered a privacy issue because users could be tracked or identifiedby any unauthorized entity capable of intercepting message or acting asman-in-the-middle over-the-air. However, in a 5G network, its MNO has anability to offer better privacy to its users so that their uniquelong-term identifiers (i.e., SUPIs) are not visible over-the-air. Thatability comes from a mechanism in which UEs, instead of sending SUPIs,calculate and send concealed identifiers over-the-air, which is calledthe Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI). The MNO makes available toUEs all information that are necessary for the calculation of SUCI.

The calculation of SUCI means the UE encrypting the SUPI. This is donebefore the SUCI is transferred over-the-air between the UE and the 5Gnetwork. The encryption is of asymmetric type and uses the HN's publickey (denoted HN public key). The HN makes the HN public key available tothe UE. There could be multiple ways of doing the asymmetric encryptionof the SUPI for calculating the SUCI, these ways denoted as encryptionschemes. Some example of the encryption schemes are ElGamal encryptionscheme, Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES), and RSAencryption. There could also be multiple variants of the same scheme,e.g., different elliptic curves could be used with an ECIES scheme likeSECP256R1, SECP384R1, and CURVE25519. These encryption schemes couldeither be standardized, say by the 3GPP, or be proprietary, decided byeach MNO on its own. On one hand, the advantage of standardizedencryption schemes is that those encryption scheme becomes publiclyavailable or known, which increases inter-operability, e.g., all UEvendors could support the standardized schemes. On the other hand, theadvantage of proprietary encryption schemes is that each MNO canindependently choose and use any encryption scheme suitable to itsoperational efficiency, security and privacy offerings, or regulatoryrequirements.

Before going into further details, it is important to understand sometechnical aspects of a UE. The UE consists of several parts orcomponents that altogether enables the users of the UE to access theservices provided by the network. We are mainly interested indistinguishing two parts on a high level, which will assist inunderstanding the rest of the document. Those two parts are theUniversal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) and the Mobile Equipment(ME).

First, the USIM part is a special software application that providesvarious functions like providing identifier and authentication of theuser's subscription, security key generations, etc. The USIM runs on atamper resistant secure hardware component, e.g., Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). Second, the ME part denotes the wireless devicecomprising of hardware and software needed to communicate with thenetwork. The ME is popularly known as a mobile phone, or smart phone.

The above mentioned HN public key, along with other information, i.e.,encryption scheme parameters are stored in the USIM part of the UE bythe MNO. The process of the said storing is generally calledprovisioning. Over-the-air (OTA) updates is one example of theprovisioning.

Whereas the information necessary for calculating the SUCI is stored orprovisioned in the USIM part of the UE, in the UE there are two partsthat may actually calculate the SUCI (i.e., computation orimplementation of the encryption), either the USIM part or the ME part.

There currently exist certain challenge(s). The HN has tight control andstrong trust on its USIM deployments and USIM vendors. Through the USIM,the HN controls the offering of the privacy improvements of its users.This is done by providing the USIM with information used for calculationof the SUCI, e.g., the HN public key, and encryption scheme parameters.However, the SUCI calculation can be performed not only in the USIM, butalso in the ME part of the UE. In the ME, the SUCI calculation is not incontrol of the HN because the HN has little control over ME deploymentsand ME vendors. In other words, the HN is not in tight control of theoffering of the privacy improvements to its users. It is challenging forthe HN to ensure that SUCI is calculated in USIM or ME, whereverintended. Further, this may have security or privacy consequences, e.g.,SUCI is unintentionally calculated in an erroneous part of the UE. Thisin turn is undesirable and harms the general good of its user's privacy.

SUMMARY

Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments mayprovide solutions that ensure that calculation of the SUCI is done ineither the USIM or the ME, wherever intended by the HN.

There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one ormore of the issues disclosed herein.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operation of anetwork node, to ensure that a Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI,is calculated in the Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM, part ofa User Equipment, UE, when intended, the method comprising: when aSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the USIM, setting proprietary information asrequired for calculation of the SUCI, wherein a Mobile Equipment, ME,part of the UE does not know how to use said proprietary information forcalculation of the SUCI.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operation of anetwork node, to ensure that a Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI,is calculated in the Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM, part ofa User Equipment, UE, when intended, the method comprising, when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is changed to a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the USIM from a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the ME, changing a pre-existing public keyof the Home Network, HN.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operation of aUniversal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM, part of a User Equipment,UE, to ensure that a Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, iscalculated in the USIM when intended, the method comprising:facilitating calculation of the SUCI in a Mobile Equipment, ME, part ofthe UE only when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the ME.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operation of aUniversal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM, part of a User Equipment,UE, to ensure that a Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, iscalculated in the USIM when intended, the method comprising: when aSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the USIM, receiving from a network nodeproprietary information, which is required for calculation of the SUCI,and which a Mobile Equipment, ME, part of the UE, does not know how touse for calculation of the SUCI.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operation of aUniversal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM, part of a User Equipment,UE, to ensure that a Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, iscalculated in the USIM when intended, the method comprising, when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is changed to a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the USIM from a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the ME, receiving notification from a HomeNetwork, HN of a changed public key of the HN.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operation of aMobile Equipment, ME, part of a User Equipment, UE, to ensure that aSubscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, is calculated in the UniversalSubscriber Identity Module, USIM, part of the UE when intended, themethod comprising: when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, deleting anylocally stored information required for calculation of the SUCI.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operation of aMobile Equipment, ME, part of a User Equipment, UE, the methodcomprising: checking a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator and calculating theSUCI only when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the ME.

According to further embodiments, there are provided computer programsfor causing a suitably processor to perform the methods according to theprevious embodiments.

In addition, there are provided computer program products, containingthe respective computer programs. For example, the computer programproducts may comprise computer readable media containing the computerprograms. The computer readable media may comprise tangible media.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technicaladvantage(s). For example, some solutions ensure that the HN haseffective control of which part of the UE, i.e., USIM or ME, calculatesthe SUCI. Additionally, some solutions enable the HN to be aware ofwhich part of the UE, i.e., USIM or ME, the SUCI calculation isperformed in. Consequently, the HN gets confidence on the effectivenessof the better privacy that it is offering to its users. Further, somesolutions ensure that SUCI is not unintentionally calculated in anerroneous part of the UE. All of these in turn expedite the number ofbetter privacy offering and therefore enhances the general good ofuser's privacy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described morefully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments,however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosedherein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limitedto only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter tothose skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram, illustrating ME and USIM parts of aUE;

FIG. 2 is a signalling diagram, showing a first process;

FIG. 3 is a signalling diagram, showing a further process;

FIG. 4 is a signalling diagram, showing a further process;

FIG. 5 is a signalling diagram, showing a further process;

FIG. 6 illustrates a communication network, including network nodes andwireless devices;

FIG. 7 illustrates in more detail a form of a wireless device;

FIG. 8 illustrates in more detail a form of a network node;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart, illustrating a first method;

FIG. 10 illustrates a form of a network node for performing the firstmethod;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart, illustrating a second method;

FIG. 12 illustrates a form of a network node for performing the secondmethod.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart, illustrating a third method;

FIG. 14 illustrates a form of a Universal Subscriber Identity Modulepart of a User Equipment for performing the third method;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart, illustrating a fourth method;

FIG. 16 illustrates a form of a Universal Subscriber Identity Modulepart of a User Equipment for performing the fourth method;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart, illustrating a fifth method;

FIG. 18 illustrates a form of a Universal Subscriber Identity Modulepart of a User Equipment for performing the fifth method;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart, illustrating a sixth method; and

FIG. 20 illustrates a form of a Mobile Equipment, ME, part of a UserEquipment for performing the sixth method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a User Equipment, UE, which consists of several parts orcomponents that altogether enables the users of the UE to access theservices provided by the network. In this document, we are mainlyinterested in distinguishing between two parts on a high level, namelythe Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) 110 and the MobileEquipment (ME) 120. FIG. 1 illustrates a high level distinction of theseparts of a UE.

First, the USIM part is a special software application that providesvarious functions like providing identifier and authentication of theuser's subscription, security key generations, etc. The USIM runs on atamper resistant secure hardware component, e.g., Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). Second, the ME part denotes the wireless devicecomprising of hardware and software needed to communicate with thenetwork. The ME may for example be a mobile phone, or smart phone, whichcan obtain network service when a UICC running the USIM is inserted intoit.

The above mentioned HN public key, along with other information, i.e.,encryption scheme parameters are stored in the USIM part of the UE bythe MNO. The process of the said storing is generally calledprovisioning. Over-the-air (OTA) updates is one example of theprovisioning.

Whereas the information necessary for calculating the SUCI is stored orprovisioned in the USIM part of the UE, in the UE there are two partsthat may actually calculate the SUCI (i.e., computation orimplementation of the encryption), either the USIM part or the ME part.

As described earlier, with both the USIM and the ME parts of the UEallowed to calculate the SUCI, it becomes challenging for the HN toensure that the SUCI is calculated in USIM or ME, wherever intended.

One potential solution is to make use of an indication. The indication,denoted SUCI-Calculation-Indicator, would be provisioned by the HN inthe USIM and would determine which part of the UE calculates the SUCI.It could have values, e.g., “calculate in USIM”, or “calculate in ME”.The ME would read the value of the said SUCI-calculation-indicator fromthe USIM and depending on the read value, would either ask the USIM tocalculate SUCI (if the value is “calculate in USIM”), or calculate theSUCI itself (if the value is “calculate in ME”).

However, the above mentioned solution using the saidSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is ineffective on its own. It is so because,in that solution, the ME is in control of the decision regarding wherethe SUCI calculation is performed. Misbehaving MEs (due to poorimplementation or with malicious intent) cannot be prevented fromcalculating the SUCI themselves even though theSUCI-calculation-indicator had the value “calculate in USIM” asprovisioned by the HN. Mind that it is the users who choose which UE(comprising the ME) to buy and use. Therefore, it is the choice of usersand not the HN who decide which MEs are used. It is neither practicalfor the HN to audit and verify all the MEs, nor can the HN update anymisbehaving MEs. As UEs become cheaper and increasingly mass producedwithout sufficient testing, the chances of misbehaving ME parts in theUE are likely to increase, meaning that those misbehaving MEs wouldbehave incorrectly and not according to the 3GPP standard. As said, suchincorrect behavior could lead to the ME calculating the SUCI even thoughthe HN had chosen that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM part ofthe UE. While the lack of actual HN control is an issue in itself, theissue becomes more apparent when a misbehaving ME also incorrectlyimplements the SUCI calculation itself, i.e., the encryption schemes,thus possibly compromising the user's privacy. To make thing worse,since incorrectly implemented encryption schemes may not lead tointeroperability issues (e.g., when the calculated SUCI is technicallyvalid, but the underlying random numbers are poorly generated), suchincorrect implementations might go unnoticed leaving user's privacy atrisk for a long time.

In the following, we are going to describe methods that mitigate theabove mentioned problems. We propose that the USIM only conditionallyfacilitates SUCI calculation in ME by conditionally providinginformation necessary for the SUCI calculation, for example the publickey of the HN, or information identifying the encryption scheme that isto be used in the SUCI calculation. For example, the USIM could avoidproviding the HN public key or the encryption scheme identifier to theME when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate in USIM”. TheUSIM would provide the HN public key or the encryption scheme identifierto the ME only when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculatein ME”. This way, the ME would not have necessary information for thecalculation of the SUCI when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is“calculate in USIM”. Mind that the USIM is the location whereinformation required for calculating SUCI is stored. In this solutionthe USIM itself determines whether it should do the SUCI calculationaccording to the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value. If theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate in USIM”, the USIM wouldcalculate the SUCI itself, and only provide the calculated SUCI to theME. If the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate in ME”, theUSIM would provide the HN public key and other information required forSUCI calculation to the ME.

The intended processes are shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5 by way ofillustration.

FIG. 2 shows a situation in which the ME sends a message 210 to theUSIM, requesting the SUCI calculation information to allow it tocalculate the SUCI. However, the USIM identifies that it is set tocalculate SUCI, i.e., that the said SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is“calculate in USIM”. The USIM then sends a message 220 rejecting therequest for the SUCI calculation information.

FIG. 3 shows a situation in which the ME sends a message 310 to theUSIM, requesting the SUCI calculation information to allow it tocalculate the SUCI. In this case, the USIM identifies that thecalculation of the SUCI can be performed in the ME, i.e., that the saidSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate in ME”. The USIM thenreplies to the request by sending the SUCI calculation information 320.

FIG. 4 shows a situation in which the ME sends a message 410 to theUSIM, requesting the SUCI value. The USIM identifies that it is set tocalculate SUCI, i.e., that the said SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is“calculate in USIM”. The USIM therefore calculates the SUCI andtransmits it to the ME in a reply message 420.

FIG. 5 shows a situation in which the ME sends a message 510 to theUSIM, requesting the SUCI value. However, the USIM identifies that thecalculation of the SUCI can be performed in the ME, i.e., that the saidSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate in ME”. The USIM thenreplies to the request by sending a message 520 rejecting the requestfor the SUCI.

Note that when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate inME”, the ME could be prevented from invoking the calculation in SUCIcalculation in the USIM in other ways than shown in FIG. 5, e.g.,dynamically removing the module for SUCI calculation, i.e., encryptionscheme module, from the USIM, dynamically changing the module for SUCIcalculation in the USIM to return an error or returning informationnecessary for SUCI calculation (denoted as SUCI calculation information)instead of a reject message. Depending on some consciously designed orallowed configuration or policy, the USIM could as well calculate SUCIwhen requested by the ME, even when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator valueis “calculate in ME”.

It is also our teaching that the USIM could as well always provide to MEat least the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value. Referring to the FIGS. 2,3, 4, and 5, doing so would allow the ME to first read or check theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value and perform the shown “Request SUCIcalculation information” only if the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is“calculate in ME”. In addition, doing so enables the ME to delete anycached or stored information from earlier time.

Having the USIM conditionally provide the information necessary for SUCIcalculation to the ME works. Nevertheless, it is still not sufficient onits own. Mind that the said information that the USIM would not provideto the ME (e.g., SUPI, HN public key, encryption scheme parameters,etc.) is not strictly meant to be hidden from the ME. For example,asymmetric encryption schemes are not designed to hide the public key.The name HN public key itself suggests that said key is public and notprivate. Therefore, theoretically, it could be assumed that the ME wouldsomehow have access to the information necessary for SUCI calculation,even though the USIM does not provide them.

Another scenario in which the ME would have access to informationnecessary for SUCI calculation is when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicatorvalue was originally provisioned as “calculate in ME” by the HN in theUSIM. So, the USIM would provide the information necessary for SUCIcalculation to the ME. Next, for some reason, the HN could decide tochange or re-provision the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value in the USIMto “calculate in USIM”. The HN might do this to avoid incorrectimplementation of a SUCI calculation in a misbehaving ME. In such case,the ME could have cached the information necessary for SUCI calculationfrom earlier time. Thus, although the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator valueis now “calculate in USIM”, the ME has access to the informationnecessary for SUCI calculation. It is therefore our teaching that, whenthe HN provisions or re-provisions the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator valuein the USIM to “calculate in USIM”, the HN changes any pre-existing, ifany, HN public key and preferably other relevant information as welllike identifier of the HN public key, so that any earlier caching doneby the ME becomes invalid.

However, changing the HN public key could be a demanding andoperationally complex procedure. Next, we describe a more efficientmechanism. Mind that in order for the 5G network to decrypt the SUCIthat was calculated by the UE, both the UE and the 5G network would needto be able to mutually identify the encryption scheme that the UE usedwhen calculating the SUCI. This mutual identification could be done byan identifier called the encryption scheme identifier. Again, recallthat the encryption schemes are either standardized or proprietary. Socorrespondingly, the standardized encryption scheme would needstandardized encryption scheme identifiers, and the proprietaryencryption schemes would need proprietary encryption scheme identifiers.We point out that among standardized and proprietary encryption schemes,it is the standardized encryption schemes that could have beenimplemented in ME, meaning that it is the standardized encryptionschemes that the ME could use on its own even when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate in USIM”. It is sobecause the ME would not know what proprietary encryption schemes areand therefore could not have implemented them, meaning that the ME wouldnot be able to use proprietary encryption schemes on its own when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value is “calculate in USIM”. So, it is ourteaching that when the HN provisions or re-provisions theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value in the USIM to “calculate in USIM”, aproprietary encryption scheme identifier is chosen and provisioned bythe HN even when the encryption scheme is a standardized one. The effectwill be that even though the ME has the information necessary forcalculating the SUCI, the ME would not know which encryption scheme touse, because the encryption scheme identifier is not a standardized one.The relationship between the encryption scheme and the encryption schemeidentifier is therefore proprietary information that is required forcalculation of the SUCI, but the ME does not know how to use saidproprietary information for calculation of the SUCI because it does notknow this relationship. Therefore, the ME would have to let the USIMcalculate the SUCI.

Another possibility is that, when the HN provisions or re-provisions theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator value in the USIM to “calculate in USIM”, aproprietary encryption scheme is chosen and correspondingly aproprietary encryption scheme identifier. In this case, the proprietaryencryption scheme is set as required for calculation of the SUCI, andthe ME does not know how to use said proprietary information forcalculation of the SUCI.

Additionally, it is also our teaching that when the HN provisions orre-provisions the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value in the USIM the USIMinforms or notifies the ME about the said change. The USIM could useUSIM application Toolkit (USAT) command called REFRESH to the ME so thatthe ME could be triggered to re-read the SUCI-Calculation-Indicatorvalue from the USIM. Doing so avoids the situation when the ME wouldhave read the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator value “calculate in ME” andwould continue to itself calculate SUCI even when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator has changed to “calculate in USIM”.

It should be appreciated that with our proposals or teachings, the MEwould not be able to calculate the SUCI even when the ME can read or hasaccess to the information necessary for SUCI calculation. This gives theHN an effective control over whether the ME or USIM does the actualcalculation of the SUCI. Further, with our proposals, misbehaving MEswould be easily detectable both by the HN and the user as those MEswould not be able to receive the network service.

FIG. 6 illustrates a wireless network in accordance with someembodiments.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in anyappropriate type of system using any suitable components, theembodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wirelessnetwork, such as the example wireless network illustrated in FIG. 6. Forsimplicity, the wireless network of FIG. 6 only depicts network 606,network nodes 660 and 660 b, and WDs 610, 610 b, and 610 c. In practice,a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitableto support communication between wireless devices or between a wirelessdevice and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, aservice provider, or any other network node or end device. Of theillustrated components, network node 660 and wireless device (WD) 610are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may providecommunication and other types of services to one or more wirelessdevices to facilitate the wireless devices' access to and/or use of theservices provided by, or via, the wireless network.

The wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type ofcommunication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio networkor other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wirelessnetwork may be configured to operate according to specific standards orother types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particularembodiments of the wireless network may implement communicationstandards, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution(LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless localarea network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards; and/orany other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as theWorldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth,Z-Wave and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 606 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks,IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet datanetworks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local areanetworks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks,wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks toenable communication between devices.

Network node 660 and WD 610 comprise various components described inmore detail below. These components work together in order to providenetwork node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providingwireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments,the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wirelessnetworks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices,relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that mayfacilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signalswhether via wired or wireless connections.

As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured,arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with awireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in thewireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to thewireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration)in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are notlimited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), basestations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs(eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based onthe amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, theirtransmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto basestations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro basestations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor nodecontrolling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (orall) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralizeddigital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to asRemote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not beintegrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of adistributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in adistributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodesinclude multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, networkcontrollers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base stationcontrollers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmissionpoints, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities(MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SONnodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As anotherexample, a network node may be a virtual network node as described inmore detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may representany suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged,and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with accessto the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless devicethat has accessed the wireless network.

In FIG. 6, network node 660 includes processing circuitry 670, devicereadable medium 680, interface 690, auxiliary equipment 684, powersource 686, power circuitry 687, and antenna 662. Although network node660 illustrated in the example wireless network of FIG. 6 may representa device that includes the illustrated combination of hardwarecomponents, other embodiments may comprise network nodes with differentcombinations of components. It is to be understood that a network nodecomprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed toperform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein.Moreover, while the components of network node 660 are depicted assingle boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multipleboxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple differentphysical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g.,device readable medium 680 may comprise multiple separate hard drives aswell as multiple RAM modules).

Although the illustrated network node 660 is a radio access networknode, the methods described herein may be used in any network node ornetwork function, including, by way of example only, and without anylimitation, core network nodes such as an Access and Mobility ManagementFunction (AMF) or Security Anchor Function (SEAF); an AuthenticationServer Function (AUSF); or a Unified Data Management (UDM) orSubscription Identifier De-concealing Function (SIDF) function. In thecase of such core network nodes, the respective network node may includeany or all of the components shown in FIG. 6, but may not include thewireless communication functionality shown in the Figure.

Similarly, network node 660 may be composed of multiple physicallyseparate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or aBTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their ownrespective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 660comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components),one or more of the separate components may be shared among severalnetwork nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB's.In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in someinstances be considered a single separate network node. In someembodiments, network node 660 may be configured to support multipleradio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some componentsmay be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 680 for thedifferent RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the sameantenna 662 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 660 may alsoinclude multiple sets of the various illustrated components fordifferent wireless technologies integrated into network node 660, suchas, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wirelesstechnologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into thesame or different chip or set of chips and other components withinnetwork node 660.

Processing circuitry 670 is configured to perform any determining,calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations)described herein as being provided by a network node. These operationsperformed by processing circuitry 670 may include processing informationobtained by processing circuitry 670 by, for example, converting theobtained information into other information, comparing the obtainedinformation or converted information to information stored in thenetwork node, and/or performing one or more operations based on theobtained information or converted information, and as a result of saidprocessing making a determination.

Processing circuitry 670 may comprise a combination of one or more of amicroprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit,digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, fieldprogrammable gate array, or any other suitable computing device,resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logicoperable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other networknode 660 components, such as device readable medium 680, network node660 functionality. For example, processing circuitry 670 may executeinstructions stored in device readable medium 680 or in memory withinprocessing circuitry 670. Such functionality may include providing anyof the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussedherein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 670 may include asystem on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, processing circuitry 670 may include one or more ofradio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 672 and baseband processingcircuitry 674. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceivercircuitry 672 and baseband processing circuitry 674 may be on separatechips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units anddigital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceivercircuitry 672 and baseband processing circuitry 674 may be on the samechip or set of chips, boards, or units.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality describedherein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or othersuch network device may be performed by processing circuitry 670executing instructions stored on device readable medium 680 or memorywithin processing circuitry 670. In alternative embodiments, some or allof the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 670 withoutexecuting instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readablemedium, such as in a hard-wired manner In any of those embodiments,whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storagemedium or not, processing circuitry 670 can be configured to perform thedescribed functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality arenot limited to processing circuitry 670 alone or to other components ofnetwork node 660, but are enjoyed by network node 660 as a whole, and/orby end users and the wireless network generally.

Device readable medium 680 may comprise any form of volatile ornon-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation,persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory,magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removablestorage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or aDigital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile,non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devicesthat store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used byprocessing circuitry 670. Device readable medium 680 may store anysuitable instructions, data or information, including a computerprogram, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules,code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executedby processing circuitry 670 and, utilized by network node 660. Devicereadable medium 680 may be used to store any calculations made byprocessing circuitry 670 and/or any data received via interface 690. Insome embodiments, processing circuitry 670 and device readable medium680 may be considered to be integrated.

Interface 690 is used in the wired or wireless communication ofsignalling and/or data between network node 660, network 606, and/or WDs610. As illustrated, interface 690 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 694 tosend and receive data, for example to and from network 606 over a wiredconnection. Interface 690 also includes radio front end circuitry 692that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna662. Radio front end circuitry 692 comprises filters 698 and amplifiers696. Radio front end circuitry 692 may be connected to antenna 662 andprocessing circuitry 670. Radio front end circuitry may be configured tocondition signals communicated between antenna 662 and processingcircuitry 670. Radio front end circuitry 692 may receive digital datathat is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wirelessconnection. Radio front end circuitry 692 may convert the digital datainto a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidthparameters using a combination of filters 698 and/or amplifiers 696. Theradio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 662. Similarly, whenreceiving data, antenna 662 may collect radio signals which are thenconverted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 692. Thedigital data may be passed to processing circuitry 670. In otherembodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/ordifferent combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, network node 660 may not includeseparate radio front end circuitry 692, instead, processing circuitry670 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected toantenna 662 without separate radio front end circuitry 692. Similarly,in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 672 may beconsidered a part of interface 690. In still other embodiments,interface 690 may include one or more ports or terminals 694, radiofront end circuitry 692, and RF transceiver circuitry 672, as part of aradio unit (not shown), and interface 690 may communicate with basebandprocessing circuitry 674, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

Antenna 662 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays,configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 662 may becoupled to radio front end circuitry 690 and may be any type of antennacapable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. Insome embodiments, antenna 662 may comprise one or more omni-directional,sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signalsbetween, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna maybe used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sectorantenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from deviceswithin a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sightantenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straightline. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may bereferred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 662 may be separatefrom network node 660 and may be connectable to network node 660 throughan interface or port.

Antenna 662, interface 690, and/or processing circuitry 670 may beconfigured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtainingoperations described herein as being performed by a network node. Anyinformation, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device,another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly,antenna 662, interface 690, and/or processing circuitry 670 may beconfigured to perform any transmitting operations described herein asbeing performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signalsmay be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or anyother network equipment.

Power circuitry 687 may comprise, or be coupled to, power managementcircuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 660with power for performing the functionality described herein. Powercircuitry 687 may receive power from power source 686. Power source 686and/or power circuitry 687 may be configured to provide power to thevarious components of network node 660 in a form suitable for therespective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed foreach respective component). Power source 686 may either be included in,or external to, power circuitry 687 and/or network node 660. Forexample, network node 660 may be connectable to an external power source(e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface suchas an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies powerto power circuitry 687. As a further example, power source 686 maycomprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery packwhich is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 687. Thebattery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also beused.

Alternative embodiments of network node 660 may include additionalcomponents beyond those shown in FIG. 6 that may be responsible forproviding certain aspects of the network node's functionality, includingany of the functionality described herein and/or any functionalitynecessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example,network node 660 may include user interface equipment to allow input ofinformation into network node 660 and to allow output of informationfrom network node 660. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic,maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node660.

As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable,configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly withnetwork nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, theterm WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE).Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receivingwireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infraredwaves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying informationthrough air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmitand/or receive information without direct human interaction. Forinstance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on apredetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event,or in response to requests from the network. Examples of a WD include,but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, avoice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktopcomputer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, agaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance,a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, atablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mountedequipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment(CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD may supportdevice-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPPstandard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V),vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may inthis case be referred to as a D2D communication device. As yet anotherspecific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD mayrepresent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/ormeasurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/ormeasurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in thiscase be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP contextbe referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the WD maybe a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT)standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors,metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home orpersonal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personalwearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, aWD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable ofmonitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functionsassociated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent theendpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may bereferred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described abovemay be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobiledevice or a mobile terminal.

As illustrated, wireless device 610 includes antenna 611, interface 614,processing circuitry 620, device readable medium 630, user interfaceequipment 632, auxiliary equipment 634, power source 636 and powercircuitry 637. WD 610 may include multiple sets of one or more of theillustrated components for different wireless technologies supported byWD 610, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, orBluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wirelesstechnologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or setof chips as other components within WD 610.

Antenna 611 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays,configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected tointerface 614. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 611 may beseparate from WD 610 and be connectable to WD 610 through an interfaceor port. Antenna 611, interface 614, and/or processing circuitry 620 maybe configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operationsdescribed herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, dataand/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. Insome embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 611 may beconsidered an interface.

As illustrated, interface 614 comprises radio front end circuitry 612and antenna 611. Radio front end circuitry 612 comprise one or morefilters 618 and amplifiers 616. Radio front end circuitry 614 isconnected to antenna 611 and processing circuitry 620, and is configuredto condition signals communicated between antenna 611 and processingcircuitry 620. Radio front end circuitry 612 may be coupled to or a partof antenna 611. In some embodiments, WD 610 may not include separateradio front end circuitry 612; rather, processing circuitry 620 maycomprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 611.Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry622 may be considered a part of interface 614. Radio front end circuitry612 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other networknodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 612may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriatechannel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 618and/or amplifiers 616. The radio signal may then be transmitted viaantenna 611. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 611 may collectradio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio frontend circuitry 612. The digital data may be passed to processingcircuitry 620. In other embodiments, the interface may comprisedifferent components and/or different combinations of components.

Processing circuitry 620 may comprise a combination of one or more of amicroprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit,digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, fieldprogrammable gate array, or any other suitable computing device,resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logicoperable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 610components, such as device readable medium 630, WD 610 functionality.Such functionality may include providing any of the various wirelessfeatures or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry620 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 630 or inmemory within processing circuitry 620 to provide the functionalitydisclosed herein.

As illustrated, processing circuitry 620 includes one or more of RFtransceiver circuitry 622, baseband processing circuitry 624, andapplication processing circuitry 626. In other embodiments, theprocessing circuitry may comprise different components and/or differentcombinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry620 of WD 610 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceivercircuitry 622, baseband processing circuitry 624, and applicationprocessing circuitry 626 may be on separate chips or sets of chips. Inalternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry624 and application processing circuitry 626 may be combined into onechip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 622 may be on aseparate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part orall of RF transceiver circuitry 622 and baseband processing circuitry624 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processingcircuitry 626 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet otheralternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 622,baseband processing circuitry 624, and application processing circuitry626 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In someembodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 622 may be a part of interface614. RF transceiver circuitry 622 may condition RF signals forprocessing circuitry 620.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality describedherein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processingcircuitry 620 of the ME part of the UE or WD. Other functionality may beperformed by a USIM function running on a removable, tamper-resistantstorage device such as a UICC, which may be represented here by devicereadable medium 630. Some or all of the functionality of the ME part maybe provided by processing circuitry 620 without executing instructionsstored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such asin a hard-wired manner In any of those particular embodiments, whetherexecuting instructions stored on a device readable storage medium ornot, processing circuitry 620 can be configured to perform the describedfunctionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are notlimited to processing circuitry 620 alone or to other components of WD610, but are enjoyed by WD 610 as a whole, and/or by end users and thewireless network generally.

Processing circuitry 620 may be configured to perform any determining,calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations)described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, asperformed by processing circuitry 620, may include processinginformation obtained by processing circuitry 620 by, for example,converting the obtained information into other information, comparingthe obtained information or converted information to information storedby WD 610, and/or performing one or more operations based on theobtained information or converted information, and as a result of saidprocessing making a determination.

Device readable medium 630 may be operable to store a computer program,software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code,tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed byprocessing circuitry 620. Device readable medium 630 may includecomputer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory(ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media(e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or anyother volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/orcomputer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/orinstructions that may be used by processing circuitry 620. In someembodiments, processing circuitry 620 and device readable medium 630 maybe considered to be integrated.

User interface equipment 632 may provide components that allow for ahuman user to interact with WD 610. Such interaction may be of manyforms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment632 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the userto provide input to WD 610. The type of interaction may vary dependingon the type of user interface equipment 632 installed in WD 610. Forexample, if WD 610 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touchscreen; if WD 610 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through ascreen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or aspeaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected).User interface equipment 632 may include input interfaces, devices andcircuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interfaceequipment 632 is configured to allow input of information into WD 610,and is connected to processing circuitry 620 to allow processingcircuitry 620 to process the input information. User interface equipment632 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor,keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or otherinput circuitry. User interface equipment 632 is also configured toallow output of information from WD 610, and to allow processingcircuitry 620 to output information from WD 610. User interfaceequipment 632 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibratingcircuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry.Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, ofuser interface equipment 632, WD 610 may communicate with end usersand/or the wireless network, and allow them to benefit from thefunctionality described herein.

Auxiliary equipment 634 is operable to provide more specificfunctionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This maycomprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for variouspurposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wiredcommunications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliaryequipment 634 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.

Power source 636 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a batteryor battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external powersource (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or powercells, may also be used. WD 610 may further comprise power circuitry 637for delivering power from power source 636 to the various parts of WD610 which need power from power source 636 to carry out anyfunctionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 637 may incertain embodiments comprise power management circuitry. Power circuitry637 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power froman external power source; in which case WD 610 may be connectable to theexternal power source (such as an electricity outlet) via inputcircuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Powercircuitry 637 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliverpower from an external power source to power source 636. This may be,for example, for the charging of power source 636. Power circuitry 637may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to thepower from power source 636 to make the power suitable for therespective components of WD 610 to which power is supplied.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with variousaspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may notnecessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/oroperates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device thatis intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which maynot, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific humanuser (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE mayrepresent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, anend user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit ofa user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 700 may be any UE identified bythe 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE,a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.UE 700, as illustrated in FIG. 7, is one example of a WD configured forcommunication in accordance with one or more communication standardspromulgated by the 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards. As mentioned previously, theterm WD and UE may be used interchangeable. Accordingly, although FIG. 7is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD,and vice-versa.

In FIG. 7, UE 700 includes processing circuitry 701 that is operativelycoupled to input/output interface 705, radio frequency (RF) interface709, network connection interface 711, memory 715 including randomaccess memory (RAM) 717, read-only memory (ROM) 719, and storage medium721 or the like, communication subsystem 731, power source 733, and/orany other component, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 721includes operating system 723, application program 725, and data 727. Inother embodiments, storage medium 721 may include other similar types ofinformation. Certain UEs may utilize all of the components shown in FIG.7, or only a subset of the components. The level of integration betweenthe components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEsmay contain multiple instances of a component, such as multipleprocessors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

In FIG. 7, processing circuitry 701 may be configured to processcomputer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 701 may beconfigured to implement any sequential state machine operative toexecute machine instructions stored as machine-readable computerprograms in the memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented statemachines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logictogether with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program,general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combinationof the above. For example, the processing circuitry 701 may include twocentral processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a formsuitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 705 may be configuredto provide a communication interface to an input device, output device,or input and output device. UE 700 may be configured to use an outputdevice via input/output interface 705. An output device may use the sametype of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port maybe used to provide input to and output from UE 700. The output devicemay be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, aprinter, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, orany combination thereof. UE 700 may be configured to use an input devicevia input/output interface 705 to allow a user to capture informationinto UE 700. The input device may include a touch-sensitive orpresence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digitalvideo camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, atrackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard,and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive orresistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, forinstance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor,a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another likesensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may bean accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and anoptical sensor.

In FIG. 7, RF interface 709 may be configured to provide a communicationinterface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and anantenna. Network connection interface 711 may be configured to provide acommunication interface to network 743 a. Network 743 a may encompasswired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), awide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, atelecommunications network, another like network or any combinationthereof. For example, network 743 a may comprise a Wi-Fi network.Network connection interface 711 may be configured to include a receiverand a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more otherdevices over a communication network according to one or morecommunication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, or thelike. Network connection interface 711 may implement receiver andtransmitter functionality appropriate to the communication network links(e.g., optical, electrical, and the like). The transmitter and receiverfunctions may share circuit components, software or firmware, oralternatively may be implemented separately.

RAM 717 may be configured to interface via bus 702 to processingcircuitry 701 to provide storage or caching of data or computerinstructions during the execution of software programs such as theoperating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 719 maybe configured to provide computer instructions or data to processingcircuitry 701. For example, ROM 719 may be configured to store invariantlow-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basicinput and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from akeyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory. Storage medium 721may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmableread-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magneticdisks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, orflash drives. In one example, storage medium 721 may be configured toinclude operating system 723, application program 725 such as a webbrowser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application,and data file 727. Storage medium 721 may store, for use by UE 700, anyof a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operatingsystems.

Storage medium 721 may be configured to include a number of physicaldrive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppydisk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive,thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc(HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray opticaldisc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive,external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamicrandom access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcardmemory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity(SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storagemedium 721 may allow UE 700 to access computer-executable instructions,application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitorymemory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article ofmanufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may betangibly embodied in storage medium 721, which may comprise a devicereadable medium.

In FIG. 7, processing circuitry 701 may be configured to communicatewith network 743 b using communication subsystem 731. Network 743 a andnetwork 743 b may be the same network or networks or different networkor networks. Communication subsystem 731 may be configured to includeone or more transceivers used to communicate with network 743 b. Forexample, communication subsystem 731 may be configured to include one ormore transceivers used to communicate with one or more remotetransceivers of another device capable of wireless communication such asanother WD, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN)according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.11,CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, or the like. Each transceiver mayinclude transmitter 733 and/or receiver 735 to implement transmitter orreceiver functionality, respectively, appropriate to the RAN links(e.g., frequency allocations and the like). Further, transmitter 733 andreceiver 735 of each transceiver may share circuit components, softwareor firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions ofcommunication subsystem 731 may include data communication, voicecommunication, multimedia communication, short-range communications suchas Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communicationsuch as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine alocation, another like communication function, or any combinationthereof. For example, communication subsystem 731 may include cellularcommunication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPScommunication. Network 743 b may encompass wired and/or wirelessnetworks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN),a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network,another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network743 b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-fieldnetwork. Power source 713 may be configured to provide alternatingcurrent (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 700.

The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may beimplemented in one of the components of UE 700 or partitioned acrossmultiple components of UE 700. Further, the features, benefits, and/orfunctions described herein may be implemented in any combination ofhardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem731 may be configured to include any of the components described herein.Further, processing circuitry 701 may be configured to communicate withany of such components over bus 702. In another example, any of suchcomponents may be represented by program instructions stored in memorythat when executed by processing circuitry 701 perform the correspondingfunctions described herein. In another example, the functionality of anyof such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 701and communication subsystem 731. In another example, thenon-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may beimplemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensivefunctions may be implemented in hardware.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualizationenvironment 800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments maybe virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creatingvirtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may includevirtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networkingresources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to a node(e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) orto a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device or any other type ofcommunication device) or components thereof and relates to animplementation in which at least a portion of the functionality isimplemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or moreapplications, components, functions, virtual machines or containersexecuting on one or more physical processing nodes in one or morenetworks).

In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein maybe implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtualmachines implemented in one or more virtual environments 800 hosted byone or more of hardware nodes 830. Further, in embodiments in which thevirtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radioconnectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may beentirely virtualized.

The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 820 (whichmay alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances,network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.)operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefitsof some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 820 are run invirtualization environment 800 which provides hardware 830 comprisingprocessing circuitry 860 and memory 890. Memory 890 containsinstructions 895 executable by processing circuitry 860 wherebyapplication 820 is operative to provide one or more of the features,benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.

Virtualization environment 800, comprises general-purpose orspecial-purpose network hardware devices 830 comprising a set of one ormore processors or processing circuitry 860, which may be commercialoff-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitryincluding digital or analog hardware components or special purposeprocessors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 890-1 which may benon-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 895 orsoftware executed by processing circuitry 860. Each hardware device maycomprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 870, alsoknown as network interface cards, which include physical networkinterface 880. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory,persistent, machine-readable storage media 890-2 having stored thereinsoftware 895 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 860.Software 895 may include any type of software including software forinstantiating one or more virtualization layers 850 (also referred to ashypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 840 as well assoftware allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefitsdescribed in relation with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machines 840, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory,virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by acorresponding virtualization layer 850 or hypervisor. Differentembodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 820 may be implementedon one or more of virtual machines 840, and the implementations may bemade in different ways.

During operation, processing circuitry 860 executes software 895 toinstantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 850, which maysometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM).Virtualization layer 850 may present a virtual operating platform thatappears like networking hardware to virtual machine 840.

As shown in FIG. 8, hardware 830 may be a standalone network node withgeneric or specific components. Hardware 830 may comprise antenna 8225and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively,hardware 830 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such asin a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where manyhardware nodes work together and are managed via management andorchestration (MANO) 8100, which, among others, oversees lifecyclemanagement of applications 820.

Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to asnetwork function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidatemany network equipment types onto industry standard high volume serverhardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be locatedin data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, virtual machine 840 may be a softwareimplementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they wereexecuting on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtualmachines 840, and that part of hardware 830 that executes that virtualmachine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/orhardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtualmachines 840, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) isresponsible for handling specific network functions that run in one ormore virtual machines 840 on top of hardware networking infrastructure830 and corresponds to application 820 in FIG. 8.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 8200 that each include oneor more transmitters 8220 and one or more receivers 8210 may be coupledto one or more antennas 8225. Radio units 8200 may communicate directlywith hardware nodes 830 via one or more appropriate network interfacesand may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide avirtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or abase station.

In some embodiments, some signalling can be effected with the use ofcontrol system 8230 which may alternatively be used for communicationbetween the hardware nodes 830 and radio units 8200.

Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefitsdisclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional unitsor modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatusmay comprise a number of these functional units. These functional unitsmay be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one ormore microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digitalhardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, theprocessing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unitto perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 9 depicts a first method in accordance with particular embodiments,specifically a method of operation of a network node, to ensure that aSubscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, is calculated in the UniversalSubscriber Identity Module, USIM, part of a User Equipment, UE, whenintended. The method may be performed in any network node that is indirect or indirect communication with the UE. The method comprises step902, namely, when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, settingproprietary information, which is not known to a Mobile Equipment, ME,part of the UE, as required for calculation of the SUCI.

The proprietary information may comprise a relationship between aproprietary encryption scheme identifier and a SUCI calculationencryption scheme. In that case, the SUCI calculation encryption schememay be standardized.

The proprietary information may comprise a proprietary encryptionscheme.

The method may further comprise, when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator ischanged to a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in theUSIM from a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in theME, changing a pre-existing public key of the Home Network, HN. When theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is changed to the value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the USIM from the value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the ME, an identifier of the public key ofthe HN may be changed.

FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 in awireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 6).The apparatus may be implemented in a network node (e.g., network node660 shown in FIG. 6). Apparatus 1000 is operable to carry out theexample method described with reference to FIG. 9 and possibly any otherprocesses or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood thatthe method of FIG. 9 is not necessarily carried out solely by apparatus1000. At least some operations of the method can be performed by one ormore other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1000 may comprise processing circuitry, which mayinclude one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as otherdigital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In someimplementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause settingunit 1002 and any other suitable units of apparatus 1000 to performcorresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, apparatus 1000 comprises a network node, andincludes setting unit 1002 for, when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is setto a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM,setting proprietary information, which is not known to a MobileEquipment, ME, part of the UE, as required for calculation of the SUCI.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics,electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, forexample, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules,processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices,computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks,procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and soon, as such as those that are described herein.

FIG. 11 depicts a second method in accordance with particularembodiments, and specifically a method of operation of a network node,to ensure that a Subscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, is calculatedin the Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM, part of a UserEquipment, UE, when intended. The method may be performed in any networknode that is in direct or indirect communication with the UE. The methodcomprises step 1102, namely, when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator ischanged to a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in theUSIM from a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in aMobile Equipment, ME, part of the UE, changing a pre-existing public keyof the Home Network, HN.

The method may further comprise, when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator ischanged to the value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated inthe USIM from the value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated inthe ME, changing an identifier of the public key of the HN.

FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1200 in awireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 6).The apparatus may be implemented in a network node (e.g., network node660 shown in FIG. 6). Apparatus 1200 is operable to carry out theexample method described with reference to FIG. 11 and possibly anyother processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understoodthat the method of FIG. 11 is not necessarily carried out solely byapparatus 1200. At least some operations of the method can be performedby one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1200 may comprise processing circuitry, which mayinclude one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as otherdigital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In someimplementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause changingunit 1202 and any other suitable units of apparatus 1200 to performcorresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, apparatus 1200 includes changing unit 1202,for, when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is changed to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM from a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in a Mobile Equipment, ME,part of the UE, changing a pre-existing public key of the Home Network,HN.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics,electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, forexample, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules,processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices,computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks,procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and soon, as such as those that are described herein.

FIG. 13 depicts a third method in accordance with particularembodiments, comprising step 1302, namely facilitating calculation ofthe SUCI in a Mobile Equipment, ME, part of the UE only when aSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the ME.

Thus, the method may comprise providing to the ME information requiredfor calculation of the SUCI only when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator isset to a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the ME.More specifically, the method may comprise, in response to a requestfrom the ME for information required for calculation of the SUCI,providing said information to the ME. The method may further comprise,in response to said request from the ME, returning said value of theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator to the ME.

As described above with reference to FIG. 5, the method may comprise,when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the ME, in response to a request from theME for the SUCI, rejecting said request. In addition, the method mayfurther comprise, in response to said request from the ME for the SUCI,returning the information required for calculation of the SUCI to theME. In addition, the method may further comprise, in response to saidrequest from the ME for the SUCI, returning said value of theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator to the ME.

The information required for calculation of the SUCI may comprise apublic key of the Home Network, HN, or may comprise informationidentifying an encryption scheme that is to be used in the calculationof the SUCI.

As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the method may comprise,when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the USIM, in response to a request from theME for information required for calculation of the SUCI, rejecting therequest from the ME for information required for calculation of theSUCI. In addition, the method may further comprise, when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the USIM, in response to said request from theME for information required for calculation of the SUCI, providing thevalue of the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator to the ME. In addition, themethod may further comprise, when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set toa value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, inresponse to a request from the ME for the SUCI, calculating the SUCI andproviding the SUCI to the ME. The method may further comprise, inresponse to said request from the ME, returning said value of theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator to the ME.

The method of FIG. 13 may further comprise notifying the ME when a valueof the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator changes.

FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1400 in awireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 6).The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wirelessdevice 610 shown in FIG. 6). Apparatus 1400 is operable to carry out theexample method described with reference to FIG. 13 and possibly anyother processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understoodthat the method of FIG. 13 is not necessarily carried out solely byapparatus 1400. At least some operations of the method can be performedby one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1400 may comprise processing circuitry, which mayinclude one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as otherdigital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In someimplementations, the processing circuitry may be used to causefacilitating unit 1402 and any other suitable units of apparatus 1400 toperform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, apparatus 1400 includes facilitating unit1402 for facilitating calculation of the SUCI in a Mobile Equipment, ME,part of the UE only when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the ME.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics,electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, forexample, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules,processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices,computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks,procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and soon, as such as those that are described herein.

FIG. 15 depicts a fourth method in accordance with particularembodiments, namely a method of operation of a Universal SubscriberIdentity Module, USIM, part of a User Equipment, UE, to ensure that aSubscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, is calculated in the USIM whenintended, the method comprising step 1502, namely, when aSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the USIM, receiving from a network nodeproprietary information, which is not known to a Mobile Equipment, ME,part of the UE, and which is required for calculation of the SUCI.

The proprietary information may comprise a relationship between aproprietary encryption scheme identifier and a SUCI calculationencryption scheme, and in that case the SUCI calculation encryptionscheme may be standardized. The proprietary information may comprise aproprietary encryption scheme.

The method may further comprise, when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator ischanged to a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in theUSIM from a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in theME, receiving notification from a Home Network, HN of a changed publickey of the HN. In that case, the method may further comprise, when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is changed to the value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the USIM from the value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the ME, receiving notification from the HNof a changed identifier of the public key of the HN.

FIG. 16 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1600 in awireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 6).The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wirelessdevice 610 shown in FIG. 6). Apparatus 1600 is operable to carry out theexample method described with reference to FIG. 15 and possibly anyother processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understoodthat the method of FIG. 15 is not necessarily carried out solely byapparatus 1600. At least some operations of the method can be performedby one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1600 may comprise processing circuitry, which mayinclude one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as otherdigital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In someimplementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause receivingunit 1602 and any other suitable units of apparatus 1600 to performcorresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, apparatus 1600 includes receiving unit 1602for, when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating thatthe SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, receiving from a network nodeproprietary information, which is not known to a Mobile Equipment, ME,part of the UE, and which is required for calculation of the SUCI.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics,electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, forexample, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules,processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices,computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks,procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and soon, as such as those that are described herein.

FIG. 17 depicts a fifth method in accordance with particularembodiments, namely a method of operation of a Universal SubscriberIdentity Module, USIM, part of a User Equipment, UE, to ensure that aSubscription Concealed Identifier, SUCI, is calculated in the USIM whenintended, the method comprising step VV1702, namely, when theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is changed to a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the USIM from a value indicating that theSUCI should be calculated in the ME, receiving notification from a HomeNetwork, HN of a changed public key of the HN.

The method may further comprise, when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator ischanged to the value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated inthe USIM from the value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated inthe ME, receiving notification from the HN of a changed identifier ofthe public key of the HN.

FIG. 18 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1800 in awireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 6).The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wirelessdevice 610 shown in FIG. 6). Apparatus 1800 is operable to carry out theexample method described with reference to FIG. 17 and possibly anyother processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understoodthat the method of FIG. 17 is not necessarily carried out solely byapparatus 1800. At least some operations of the method can be performedby one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 1800 may comprise processing circuitry, which mayinclude one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as otherdigital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In someimplementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause receivingunit 1802 and any other suitable units of apparatus 1800 to performcorresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, apparatus 1800 includes receiving unit 1802for, when the SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is changed to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM from a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the ME, receivingnotification from a Home Network, HN of a changed public key of the HN.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics,electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, forexample, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules,processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices,computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks,procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and soon, as such as those that are described herein.

FIG. 19 depicts a sixth method in accordance with particularembodiments, namely a method of operation of a Mobile Equipment, ME,part of a User Equipment, UE, to ensure that a Subscription ConcealedIdentifier, SUCI, is calculated in the Universal Subscriber IdentityModule, USIM, part of the UE when intended, the method comprising step1902, namely, when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a valueindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, deleting anylocally stored information required for calculation of the SUCI.

The method may further comprise checking a value of theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator, and calculating the SUCI only if theSUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the ME.

The information required for calculation of the SUCI may comprise apublic key of a Home Network, HN, of the UE, or may comprise informationidentifying an encryption scheme that is to be used in the calculationof the SUCI.

FIG. 20 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 2000 in awireless network (for example, the wireless network shown in FIG. 6).The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., wirelessdevice 610 shown in FIG. 6). Apparatus 2000 is operable to carry out theexample method described with reference to FIG. 19 and possibly anyother processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understoodthat the method of FIG. 19 is not necessarily carried out solely byapparatus 2000. At least some operations of the method can be performedby one or more other entities.

Virtual Apparatus 2000 may comprise processing circuitry, which mayinclude one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as otherdigital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs),special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitrymay be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which mayinclude one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, opticalstorage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes programinstructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or datacommunications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one ormore of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In someimplementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause deletingunit WW62 and any other suitable units of apparatus WW60 to performcorresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, apparatus 2000 includes deleting unit 2002for, when a SUCI-Calculation-Indicator is set to a value indicating thatthe SUCI should be calculated in the USIM, deleting any locally storedinformation required for calculation of the SUCI.

The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics,electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, forexample, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules,processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices,computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks,procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and soon, as such as those that are described herein.

ABBREVIATIONS

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in thisdisclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations,preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multipletimes below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequentlisting(s).

1× RTT CDMA2000 1× Radio Transmission Technology

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

5G 5th Generation

ABS Almost Blank Subframe

ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

BCH Broadcast Channel

CA Carrier Aggregation

CC Carrier Component

CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU

CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access

CGI Cell Global Identifier

CIR Channel Impulse Response

CP Cyclic Prefix

CQI Channel Quality information

C-RNTI Cell RNTI

CSI Channel State Information

DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

DL Downlink

DM Demodulation

DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

DRX Discontinuous Reception

DTX Discontinuous Transmission

DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel

DUT Device Under Test

E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)

E-SMLC Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre

ECGI Evolved CGI

eNB E-UTRAN NodeB

ePDCCH enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

E-SMLC evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

E-UTRA Evolved UTRA

E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN

FDD Frequency Division Duplex

FFS For Further Study

GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network

gNB Base station in NR

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

GSM Global System for Mobile communication

HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

HO Handover

HSPA High Speed Packet Access

HRPD High Rate Packet Data

LOS Line of Sight

LPP LTE Positioning Protocol

LTE Long-Term Evolution

MAC Medium Access Control

MBMS Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services

MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network

MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe

MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

MIB Master Information Block

MME Mobility Management Entity

MSC Mobile Switching Center

NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel

NR New Radio

OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator

OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

OSS Operations Support System

OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival

O&M Operation and Maintenance

PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel

PCell Primary Cell

PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PDP Profile Delay Profile

PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

PGW Packet Gateway

PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel

PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

PMI Precoder Matrix Indicator

PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

PRS Positioning Reference Signal

PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

RACH Random Access Channel

QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

RAN Radio Access Network

RAT Radio Access Technology

RLM Radio Link Management

RNC Radio Network Controller

RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

RRC Radio Resource Control

RRM Radio Resource Management

RS Reference Signal

RSCP Received Signal Code Power

RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR Reference Signal Received Power

RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR Reference Symbol ReceivedQuality

RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

SCH Synchronization Channel

SCell Secondary Cell

SDU Service Data Unit

SFN System Frame Number

SGW Serving Gateway

SI System Information

SIB System Information Block

SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

SON Self Optimized Network

SS Synchronization Signal

SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

TDD Time Division Duplex

TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

TOA Time of Arrival

TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

TTI Transmission Time Interval

UE User Equipment

UL Uplink

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System

USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module

UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival

UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

WCDMA Wide CDMA

WLAN Wide Local Area Network

1. An apparatus for ensuring that a Subscription Concealed Identifier(SUCI) is calculated in a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)part of a user equipment (UE) when intended, wherein the UE furthercomprises a mobile equipment (ME) part that is separate from the USIMpart, the apparatus comprising processing circuitry that is configuredto: provision the USIM part with a SUCI calculation indicator thatindicates that the ME part of the UE should not calculate the SUCI forthe UE; and set information, which is not known to the ME part of theUE, as required for calculation of the SUCI.
 2. The apparatus of claim1, wherein said information comprises a relationship between aproprietary encryption scheme identifier and a SUCI calculationencryption scheme.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein setting theinformation comprises provisioning the information to the USIM part ofthe UE.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said information comprisesa proprietary encryption scheme.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe apparatus is further adapted to change a public key of a HomeNetwork (HN) when the SUCI calculation indicator is changed fromindicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the ME to indicatingthat the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the apparatus is further adapted to change anidentifier of the public key of the HN when the SUCI calculationindicator is changed to the value indicating that the SUCI should becalculated in the USIM from the value indicating that the SUCI should becalculated in the ME.
 7. An apparatus for ensuring that a SubscriptionConcealed Identifier (SUCI) is calculated in the Universal SubscriberIdentity Module (USIM) part of a user equipment (UE) when intended,wherein the UE further comprises a mobile equipment (ME) part that isseparate from the USIM part, the apparatus comprising processingcircuitry that is configured to: initially provisioning the USIM partwith a SUCI calculation indicator that indicates that the ME part of theUE should calculate the SUCI for the UE, wherein the USIM part storesthe SUCI calculation indicator; changing the SUCI calculation indicatorstored by the USIM part such that the SUCI calculation indicatorindicates that the SUCI should not be calculated in the ME part; as aresult of the SUCI-calculation indicator being changed from indicatingthat the SUCI should be calculated in the ME part of the UE toindicating that the SUCI should not be calculated in the ME part of theUE, changing a pre-existing public key of a Home Network (HN).
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus is further adapted to changean identifier of the public key of the HN when the SUCI calculationindicator is changed to the value indicating that the SUCI should becalculated in the USIM from the value indicating that the SUCI should becalculated in the ME.
 9. A Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)of a user equipment (UE) that further comprises a mobile equipment (ME)part that is separate from the USIM, the USIM being configured to: storea Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI) calculation indicator thatindicates that the ME part of the UE should not calculate the SUCI forthe UE; determine that the SUCI calculation indicator indicates that theSUCI should not be calculated in the ME part; and refrain fromfacilitating calculation of the SUCI in the ME part of the UE as aresult of the USIM determining that the SUCI calculation indicatorindicates that the SUCI should not be calculated in the ME part.
 10. TheUSIM of claim 9, wherein the USIM is further configured to provide tothe ME information required for calculation of the SUCI only when theSUCI calculation indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the ME.
 11. The USIM of claim 10, wherein theUSIM is further configured to provide said information to the ME when aSUCI calculation indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCIshould be calculated in the ME and in response to a request from the MEfor information required for calculation of the SUCI.
 12. The USIM ofclaim 11, wherein the USIM is further configured to return a value ofthe SUCI calculation indicator to the ME in response to said requestfrom the ME.
 13. The USIM of claim 10, wherein the USIM is furtherconfigured to reject a request from the ME for the SUCI when a SUCIcalculation indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCI shouldbe calculated in the ME.
 14. The USIM of claim 13, wherein the USIM isfurther configured to return the information required for calculation ofthe SUCI to the ME in response to a request from the ME for the SUCI.15. The USIM of claim 13, wherein the USIM is further configured toreturn said value of the SUCI calculation indicator to the ME inresponse to said request from the ME for the SUCI.
 16. The USIM of claim10, wherein the information required for calculation of the SUCIcomprises a public key of the Home Network (HN).
 17. The USIM of claim10, wherein the information required for calculation of the SUCIcomprises information identifying an encryption scheme that is to beused in the calculation of the SUCI.
 18. The USIM of claim 9, whereinthe USIM is further configured to reject a request from the ME forinformation required for calculation of the SUCI when a SUCI calculationindicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCI should becalculated in the USIM.
 19. The USIM of claim 18, wherein the USIM isfurther configured such that, in response to said request from the MEfor information required for calculation of the SUCI, the USIM providesto the ME the value of the SUCI calculation indicator when the SUCIcalculation indicator is set to a value indicating that the SUCI shouldbe calculated in the USIM.
 20. The USIM of claim 9, wherein the USIM isfurther configured such that, when a SUCI calculation indicator is setto a value indicating that the SUCI should be calculated in the USIM,the USIM calculates the SUCI and provides the SUCI to the ME in responseto a request from the ME for the SUCI.
 21. The USIM of claim 20, whereinthe USIM is further configured such that, in response to said requestfrom the ME, the USIM returns said value of the SUCI calculationindicator to the ME.
 22. The USIM of claim 9, wherein the USIM isfurther configured such that the USIM notifies the ME when a value ofthe SUCI calculation indicator changes.
 23. A Universal SubscriberIdentity Module (USIM) of a user equipment (UE) that further comprises amobile equipment (ME) part that is separate from the USIM, the USIMbeing configured to: store a Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI)calculation indicator indicating that the ME part of the UE should notcalculate the SUCI for the UE; and receive from a network nodeinformation required for calculation of the SUCI, which information isnot known to the ME part of the UE.
 24. The USIM of claim 23, whereinthe information comprises a relationship between a proprietaryencryption scheme identifier and a SUCI calculation encryption scheme.25. The USIM of claim 24, wherein the SUCI calculation encryption schemeis standardized.
 26. The USIM of claim 23, wherein the informationcomprises a proprietary encryption scheme.